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<title>I Don't Dress Up by ArchitectOfTheStars (AdaEinar)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26595889">I Don't Dress Up</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdaEinar/pseuds/ArchitectOfTheStars'>ArchitectOfTheStars (AdaEinar)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>We're Warriors, Not Diplomats [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Allura &amp; Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Allura (Voltron) is a Good Friend, Allura acts like a big sister, Allura and Pidge could totally be good friends, Allura dressing like a nerd, Don't take this seriously and don't hold this against me, Dress Up, Dresses, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Friendship, Implied Lance/Pidge crush, Makeover, No one's going to read this anyway (fortunately), Party, Pidge | Katie Holt in Dresses, Skirts, Stereotype swap, Trope Subversion, Tropes, Voltron Coalition, We sometimes forget Pidge is a girl, What am I doing, What is this?, Why is there so little canonical platonic Pallura</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:06:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,468</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26595889</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdaEinar/pseuds/ArchitectOfTheStars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Pidge was fine with dresses and skirts—after all, she wore them for most of her childhood. But getting dressed up for a party was different from just wearing a skirt. Makeup, hair, jewelry—Pidge wasn’t fine with that, even if she had to do it for the Voltron Coalition.</p><p>Fortunately, she and Allura found a way to make it better. And, to Pidge’s surprise, she actually had fun doing it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Allura &amp; Pidge | Katie Holt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>We're Warriors, Not Diplomats [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1935007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I Don't Dress Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I spent far too long trying to decide whether or not to post this. It's really not that good—although I think it's pretty fun—and I don't expect many people to enjoy it. Then I reminded myself that I post my writing not to cater to an audience or get views, but because I have stories I've written that I can't stand not sharing. It's so easy to forget that.</p><p>Anyway, this story is basically just me sitting down with my least favorite trope and having a talking-to with it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Sorry, <em>Paloma</em>," Lance grinned, "but if I have to wear the space equivalent of a tux, then you can put on a dress."</p><p>“But I shouldn’t have to!” Pidge said. “We’re warriors, not politicians! Why do we have to go to this stupid reception—”</p><p>“Pidge,” Allura said, interrupting her tirade before it could really begin, “We can’t defeat the Galra with just Voltron. We need more planets to help us. You know we don’t have enough power to do it on our own, right? You look at our diagnostics every day.”</p><p>Pidge did know that. She was all too aware of it. Voltron was the most powerful weapon in the Universe, but it was only one weapon. To defeat the Galra, they needed to defend hundreds of already freed planets, and at the same time, free new ones, take out supply lines, and fight every random squadron of Galra they encountered in space. Five people couldn’t do that.</p><p>They definitely need the Voltron Coalition. Pidge just wished that that didn’t mean they needed her to wear a dress.</p><p>“I thought I needed to be in my armor for this reception,” she said, trying to find a way out.</p><p>"I have a skirt you can wear over your uniform," said Allura. "You won't notice it."</p><p>"Unless I need to run or fight, which you <em>know</em> will happen. It <em>always</em> happens."</p><p>"That's when you just cut it off using your bayard."</p><p>Pidge was surprised Allura would be OK with that—then she remembered that Allura probably had hundreds of dresses. "Good point." Out of excuses, Pidge sighed. If Allura really thought it was necessary for the reception . . . "OK, fine. Just let me see it first."</p><p>“Yes! <em>Finally</em>!” Allura squealed, and before Pidge could react, she grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room. “I’ve been waiting to dress you up ever since I learned you were a girl!”</p><p>“Woah, wait, Allura,” Pidge said, tugging her hand out of Allura’s grip. “I never agreed to being dressed up. A dress, yes. I’m fine with dresses—except they’re hard to fight in, but that’s not an issue if I can just cut it off. But getting ‘dressed up’—that implies more than just wearing a skirt. Makeup. Jewelry. Stuff I’m not OK with. I don’t get dressed up.”</p><p>“<em>Please</em>, Pidge?” Allura begged. “I know you don’t like it, but I don’t have anyone else to do this with! All my friends are . . .” She fell silent, and Pidge winced. Right. All the people Allura would usually do this with were dead, and in Allura’s memory, had been dead for less than a year.</p><p>Maybe Pidge felt sorry for Allura. Maybe she really wanted to see what getting dressed up was like, just for the novelty. Whatever the reason, she gave in. “Alright. Fine. You can dress me up. Just—”</p><p>“Thank you!”</p><p>“Just don’t go overboard!”</p><p>* * *</p><p>Allura, predictably, went overboard. Not only did she get Pidge a light purple skirt to slip on over her armor, she also had Pidge wear a light green sleeveless shirt—again, over her uniform, which seemed a little ridiculous and unnecessary to Pidge, but Allura insisted—an Altean necklace, and a flower behind her ear.</p><p>"You look very cute," Allura said.</p><p>Pidge resisted the urge to ask how the heck wearing a skirt and a necklace made her look cute—seriously, she was still wearing her armor underneath—and said, "I don't want to look cute, I want to win this war."</p><p>"They'll be more likely to help us win this war if you look cute.” Pidge thought that was a weird way of putting it, but she was probably--unfortunately--right. “And I notice you didn't try to fight me."</p><p>Pidge shrugged, averting her eyes. "I . . . I'm not against dresses and skirts— I wore them all the time when I was younger. It just feels strange. Like something Katie would do, not Pidge." She wasn’t sure if Allura really understood the walls she had constructed between who she was before the Kerberos mission and after. Katie—from before the mission—had cared what people thought of her. She had cared how she looked. She had worn dresses and skirts. Pidge, after the mission, didn’t care at all how she looked or how she was seen. All she cared about was finding her family and being happy—and later, saving the universe. “It’s not me.”</p><p>Allura's eyes twinkled. "I believe Lance would disagree."</p><p>Pidge flushed. "Y-you— This has nothing to do with him!" (Alright, so maybe she didn’t completely not care what people thought of her. Just mostly.)</p><p>“It’s just for one night,” Allura implored her. “Just let me do your hair and then you can go free.”</p><p>“Fine.” Allura clapped her hand together and grabbed a bunch of tools that looked nothing like the ones Pidge had ever seen on earth—not that she had seen many hair styling products. Even before the Kerberos mission, makeup and hair hadn’t really been her thing. They took too much time.</p><p>Allura began doing something to her hair—Pidge couldn’t exactly tell, since she couldn’t see the back of her head. She shifted uncomfortably. She wasn’t sure why she felt so resistant to what was happening. She genuinely didn’t have any problems with looking pretty or girly. So why was she so against it. . . ? Then it hit her.</p><p>"<em>That’s</em> what it is,” she said.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“This feels frustratingly similar to that scene in movies where the unpopular girl gets a makeover from the popular girl," Pidge complained. "I always hate those scenes. Why can't the nerdy girl keep looking nerdy?"</p><p>Allura hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t know what a movie is, but I think I know what you’re talking about. It happens in a lot of stories I’ve heard.”</p><p>“So it’s an Altean thing, too? There’s a pretty, popular girl, and an ugly, smart girl. The smart girl is OK with not being pretty, but then there’s a dance or something, and all of a sudden she wants to get dressed up, so the popular girl makes her gorgeous and suddenly everyone likes her a lot more.” Pidge shook her head. As the unpopular nerdy girl who <em>wanted</em> to remain nerdy, she had always hated that part of stories.</p><p>"I can see your point,” Allura said. “It doesn’t set a very good standard, does it? How about this. Because you let me do your hair and clothes, you can do my hair and clothes—however you want."</p><p>Pidge went still. “Wait, really? You’d let me do that?”</p><p>“You’re letting me do it to you, aren’t you?” Allura smiled.</p><p>“But I thought you had to look ‘acceptable’ for the reception.” She imitated Allura’s accent when she said “acceptable”.</p><p>“We’ll have <em>you</em> to look respectable and pretty.”</p><p>Pidge laughed, then she turned around to face Allura. This was too good an opportunity to pass up, but she had to know her limitations. "<em>However</em> I want?" Pidge narrowed her eyes.</p><p>"Within reason."</p><p>"So I can't cut your hair?"</p><p>Allura tilted her head in thought. "Not today."</p><p>"But I can make you look like a nerdy, geeky dork?"</p><p>Allura shrugged, then gave Pidge an evil smile. "Whatever you want."</p><p>Pidge returned her evil smile. "Deal."</p><p>* * *</p><p>Maybe dressing up <em>could</em> be fun, Pidge had begun to think. As long as you were dressing up as something fun.</p><p>For example, dressing up to be a pretty girl was useful when you were going to a reception to convince aliens to help you free the universe, but it wasn’t very fun. What was fun was dressing up a gorgeous alien in the dorkiest clothes Pidge could find.</p><p>Pidge forced Allura into one of Coran’s white long-sleeved collared shirts, then had the ship create a vest to go over it. The vest was plaid, made with the most ridiculous looking combination of colors Pidge could find drawing from Allura’s standard color palette: a bright blue-purple, a light blue, and a garish gold. Pidge pulled her hair into two long, lopsided braids and gave her square glasses. The thing that really made the outfit look absolutely idiotic, though, was the shorts: pale pink baggy shorts that went down to her knees, with a thick gold hem along the bottom.</p><p>“You look ridiculous,” Pidge said.</p><p>“Will you laugh if I tell you that it’s the most comfortable thing I’ve ever worn?” Allura asked, lifting her arms to investigate how restrictive the shirt was. Then she examined herself in the mirror. “I actually don’t think it looks that bad.”</p><p>“No, no, don’t ruin it!” Pidge said. “You’re supposed to look bad!”</p><p>“I think you’re just trying to get revenge.”</p><p>“Well, obviously.”</p><p>“Come on,” Allura said, holding her hand out to Pidge. “The reception starts soon, <em>pretty</em> girl.”</p><p>“OK, <em>nerdy</em> girl."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>. . . I both love and hate this.</p><p>I'll follow this up with a Pidge/Lance sequel (at the actual party) that you don't have to read if you don't ship it. The point is, that's why this is part of a series. (I'll also a have a third installment that's ship-less ironic fun with Allura at the party.) And I'll post the sequels even if no one reads this, because I can't stand writing stories and not at least trying to share them.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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